Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Sad Story of a Weevil

.

or "A Good Photography Refresher Tip"

First, The Good News......
I made a nice photograph of a cool weevil while on an insect walk with Laura Veloz,
at the Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge. A broad-nosed weevil at that.
At first glance, I tentatively ID'd this as an Ophryastes sp., maybe varius.


Now, The Bad News......
After posting on one of my favorite sites, 'Bug Guide', the ID is now in doubt.
v.belov, a contributing editor of 'Bug Guide', tends to think it may be Epicaerus texanus.

Poor weevil. Now he/she will never be a famous star in an Entomological journal.
Without a proven bloodline or lineage, no acceptance.
You know how picky these Editors are.

The moral to the story, or lesson learned, is.....
Always take several photographs from various angles.
According to v. belov, a plain dorsal photo may have decided the confirmed idenity.

It doesn't cost any more to make twenty shots than one. I was just lazy.
I took 3 shots (all from the same angle) and all looked in focus.

Have you ever done this?
Leave a comment

Troy



14 comments:

DougT said...

My main problem is taking a bunch of shots that look great on the camera screen, only to see that they are not quite in focus when I view them full sized on the computer monitor.

Daryl said...

have you visited http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

Rick Floyd said...

Troy:

What a sharp photo! My day job is with Tarrant County Sheriff's Department and I think you may be wanted in four states. How did you ever get such a sharp? Had you taken more than three I may have been able to confirm the warrants. I really admire your work.

Rick Floyd

Kathie Brown said...

Yes, Troy, many times. Sorry about your ID. That's one ugly bug! It would make a good prototype for a horror show monster!

myonlyphoto said...

Good tip, I do that with birds! Excellent close up.
Anna :)

Kelly said...

...that is a very interesting looking bug--no matter what he is!

Marvin said...

Such a great shot and still not be able to get an ID... That's a bummer! I've taken plenty of shot of Unidentifiable Flying Objects, but never one this good.

jabblog said...

Superb photograph - I would be so proud of that no matter how non-famous the bug might be (was going to put 'infamous' but then we're into another spere entirely!)Goodness, I could almost identify you from your photographed fingerprints!

storyteller at Small Reflections said...

Nifty macro shot and excellent research too. Live and learn, right? I share your views on Word Verification ... thanks!
Hugs and blessings,

Janet Creamer Martin said...

Very cool shot. I love BugGuide. Use it all the time.

Cezar and Léia said...

wow it's a different critters indeed! Cool post,
happy camera critters
purrs and love
Luna

Louise said...

What I really hate is when I think they were all in focus and NONE of them were!

Adrienne Zwart said...

That is my favorite bug ID site as well, but I'm still learning about taking proper identification photos. Any photos I've submitted end up in their Frass section once identified by someone most knowledgeable. :) Since I take photos merely for my own enjoyment, I don't worry too much about it.

Beatriz Moisset said...

So it goes. I have regretted many times not taking a few more shots. Sometimes even the bad ones turn out to be useful for identification. Sometimes something really surprising shows up on the monitor's screen that you couldn't see with your bare eyes. BugGuide is a great resource.